


One Day

by uswntpoet



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Angst and Feels, Drama & Romance, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-07-27 13:14:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20046619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uswntpoet/pseuds/uswntpoet
Summary: Technically winning a World Cup is the best moment in your life, but why does it feel like everything is going downhill for Kelley and Alex ever since?





	One Day

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy this one shot, let me know what you think :)

“Kelley!! Alex!! Shots at the bar!” JJ screams, waving her hand enthusiastically.

“I’ll be right back, babe.” Alex says, freeing herself form Servando’s embrace.

“Would you mind?” Kelley asks Hannah.

“No of course not. Go, have fun.” she encourages, smiling sweetly.

“5 minutes.” Kelley smiles, pressing a sweet kiss to her lips.

“Kel?” Alex calls over her shoulder.

“Coming!” Kelley responds, immediately turning around, putting her hands on Alex’s shoulders. Alex turns her head to look at her, smiling brightly. Kelley eyes are beaming and she smiles back at her even brighter.

“SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS, EVERBOOOODY!” Kelley yells loudly, her hands guiding Alex through the crowd to the rhythm of the music, lightly moving her shoulder blades from left to right. Alex laughs loudly, already feeling the effects of the alcohol. She reaches for her shoulder to hold on to one of Kelley’s hands while throwing her other hand into the air, joining in on Kelley’s shenanigans.

“There you are!!! Now let’s down these fucking shots bitches.” Ashlyn slurs, putting her shot in the middle of the group to toast. Ali hands Alex and Kelley their shots and they all bring them to the middle.

“Kel?” Megan asks, raising her eyebrow.

“To being fucking WORLD CHAMPS! OOS- OOS- OOS- AAH!” Kelley yells.

“OOS- OOS- OOS- AAH!!” the whole team yells, clinking shot glasses.

“WOOHOO!” Tobin, Allie and Kelley all yell after taking the shot. Alex laughs loudly, looking at some of her teammates who are scrunching up their faces from the shot. Meanwhile, Kelley feels awesome. Her whole body is more energized than ever, running at full speed. Right in that moment she feels as if she’s on top of the world. Her head is bopping to the beat of the music and her mind is on a high that resembles a trip.

“ANOTHER ROUND!” she exclaims, making some of her teammates roll their eyes and leave while others cheer and stay.

Another shot turns into six other shots and after round three the only ones remaining are Kelley and Alex, their promises to return to Servando and Hannah long forgotten. Hence, ‘5 minutes’ turn into one hour of not coming back and tipsy chuckles turn into drunken laughter while stumbling around, almost falling over each other. If you’d asks either of them, no one could have answered how they ended up outside of the party. Now they are sitting on the curb of the sidewalk, several feet from the back door, sharing a bottle of champagne.

“France, you’ve really been perfect!! Now I understand why everything is about love here.” Kelley slurs into the crystal-clear night sky, looking up at the stars.

It’s a warm summer night, the street completely empty and crickets are chirping along to the muffled bass of the music that is echoing through the streets.

“Imagine spending a night like this in Paris, drinking wine and dancing in the streets with someone you love.” Alex slurs, longingly looking up at the sky as well, handing Kelley the champagne bottle.

Kelley takes a swig of the bottle and sets it down on the ground, standing up.

“What are you doing?” Alex chuckles.

“May I?” Kelley holds out her hand, taking a bow.

“You can’t be serious right now. We’re not dancing here.” Alex giggles.

“Why not?” Kelley laughs.

“Because it was only nonsense.”

“I know you, it wasn’t.” Kelley grins.

Alex rolls her eyes, hating that Kelley indeed does know her so well, “Still.”

“Miss Morgan this may not be Paris and I only got champagne for you, but it’s still a pretty perfect summer night and someone who loves you is standing in front of you, asking you to dance with them in the streets of Lyon.” Kelley announces with a smile, still holding out her hand.

Alex looks at her with uncertainty, but the smile that is born on her face is the brightest Kelley has seen from her all day.

“Huh?” Kelley grins, raising her eyebrows and wiggling her fingers to make Alex take her hand.

“Aaaalright.” Alex says, taking Kelley’s hand and letting her help her up.

Kelley pulls her close, putting her hand on her waist, guiding Alex’s hand to her shoulder and taking her other hand into her own. She looks down at their feet, lining them perfectly and when she looks up at Alex, her eyes are looking back at her with a glow that Kelley would love to see all the time.

“One..two…three.” Kelley says under her breath, before taking the first step forward, making Alex take a step back and immediately matching her step.

“Good anticipation, Miss Morgan.” Kelley winks.

They dance around smoothly, holding eye contact at all time, the drunk smiles never leaving their faces.

“Why did I know you were going for a slow waltz?” Alex asks with an amused smile.

“Because I’m romantic as fuck.” Kelley grins smugly.

“Can’t argue with that.”

Kelley holds her arm up, letting Alex turn under it and smoothly takes her hand again, continuing the dance, pulling her close. A little too close. Much closer than necessary. Their foreheads are almost touching now, their gazes fixed on each other. Bright smiles turn into longing looks. Alex’s breathing starts getting heavier and her heart is beating out of her chest.

“Wanna try something even more romantic?” Kelley whispers.

Alex just nods her head, speechlessly. Kelley releases her hand and places both of Alex’s hands behind her neck while her own hands go around Alex’s waist, turning the slow waltz into a slow dance. Their bodies are pushed together completely now, not one inch space in between them, their foreheads finally touching. When Alex feels a light tingling of Kelley’s breath on her lips, she looks at Kelley’s lips before quickly looking back up into her eyes. The usual mix of green and brown in Kelley’s eyes which Alex always found really pretty is gone. Instead Alex can see almost only black, Kelley’s pupils dilated immensely. Alex starts thinking that it must be the alcohol and why in the world is she thinking about how pretty Kelley’s eyes are. The next moment Alex realizes that they have stopped dancing. They’re just standing there in the middle of the street in Lyon, bodies so close that they feel like one, staring into each other’s eyes for what feels like eternity. There is absolute silence for a minute. Before either one of them can process what is happening, they are both leaning in at the same time, sharing a short kiss that resembles a peck and both pull away again. They end up looking at each other’s lips confused. When they go in for another short peck, their gazes meet simultaneously once they pull away for a second time. That is the last straw it takes. They start kissing again, but this time it’s not a peck. When their lips touch it feels like an explosion of passion. Kelley literally feels her body releasing dopamine that flows through her veins like electricity, her heart racing. Their teeth clash together in urgency. The kiss a desperate attempt to express all of their emotions, turning it messy. Both of their eyebrows are furrowed while holding on to each other’s faces for dear life to kiss forcefully. Their lips move restlessly and needy as if it was their last moment on earth. Alex suddenly feels a sharp pain spreading through her head and she pulls away slightly. 

“I-I can’t.” she rasps breathlessly, sounding anything but sure.

Kelley just starts kissing her more passionately, the creases on her forehead starting to intensify. A hasty attempt to stop Alex from thinking and it appears to work. As soon as Kelley’s lips are on Alex’s again, she forgets every thought that started to rush into her brain, the kiss anesthetizing every feeling of pain. Now Kelley is the one to pull away, panic written across her face.

“Fuck, we shouldn’t be doing this.” she gasps, but they still continue to kiss.

“I know.”

“We’re drunk.” Kelley mumbles.

“I know.” Alex breathes, turning her head to deepen the kiss.

There is pain and desperation written across both of their faces, but neither one of them can let go. Mid kiss Kelley starts walking forward until Alex’s back hits the wall of the venue they are celebrating in. She kisses Alex’s neck, making her moan lightly, throwing her head back against the wall. Kelley’s hands start opening Alex’s belt while Alex’s hands disappear under Kelley’s shirt, her nails digging into her back. When Kelley starts unbuttoning and unzipping her pants, Alex grabs Kelley’s chin to redirect her into a kiss again. Kelley’s hand starts making its way into Alex’s pants, teasing Alex by going agonizingly slowly. This only lasts until Alex grabs Kelley’s wrist impatiently and pushes it further down.

“Aaaaalex??” a voice calls, making both of them freeze on the spot.

“Kelley? Are you here???” the approaching voice calls.

They pull away from each other’s lips.

“Fuck.” Alex exhales in panic.

Kelley quickly buttons Alex’s pants, jumping away from her, starting to hectically go through her hair and her face. Meanwhile, Alex tightens her belt just as hectically, also brushing her hands through her hair. Kelley sits down at the curb again, taking the bottle of champagne into her hand and Alex sits down next to her, leaving a suspiciously huge gap between them.

“Are you insane?? Come closer!!” Kelley whisper yells, grabbing Alex’s arm to pull her closer.

“Same goes for you! Who sits like that?!” she snaps at Kelley, who sits so upright that she might as well dine with royals. Kelley relaxes her back just in time when Allie walks around the corner.

“There you are! What were you guys doing without me?” she slurs.

Kelley’s eyes go wide and she quickly starts chugging the rest of the huge bottle of champagne. Alex looks at her in disbelief.

“We were just talking.” Alex says, standing up.

“Wowza Kel, you’re the life of the party.” Allie laughs, when Kelley sets down the empty bottle which was nearly half full.

“I’ll be right back. I need to go to the bathroom.” Alex excuses herself.

“That I can see.” Allie chuckles.

“What?” Alex exclaims wide eyed while Kelley freezes again.

“Your zipper.” Allie laughs, pointing at Alex’s pants, “It’s already open.”

Alex and Kelley’s eyes dart down to Alex’s zipper which indeed is still and not already open.

“Uh, yeah. I really have to pee badly.” Alex laughs awkwardly, before almost jogging to the back door to enter the venue again.

Allie looks at Kelley observingly.

“Dude, your lips are so swollen from chugging that bottle of champagne right now.” she laughs.

Kelley hesitantly starts joining in with Allie’s laughter, before redirecting the conversation to something else. They talk for about 15 minutes, waiting for Alex to return, but she never does. When they reenter the venue to go search for her, they are told that she already left about 15 minutes ago.

“And man did she leave hastily, I bet Servando is getting lucky tonight.” Ashlyn laughs drunkenly, causing Allie to burst into laughter and Kelley’s heart to ache. As if that wasn’t quite enough, she feels a hand on her shoulder and when she turns around big brown eyes are looking back at her. Her girlfriend.

“Where have you been?” she asks with an annoyed edge to her voice.

“I- uh- I-“ Kelley slurs, feeling the effect of the champagne combining with all the shots. The room starts spinning, her head hurting badly from the mix of the alcohol and the concussion she got in the game. Kelley feels her eyes moving uncontrollably. A dull droning fills her ears, making the conversations around her incomprehensible.

A muffled “What’s up with her?” is all she can hear Allie say, before blacking out.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I-uh-I-“ Kelley slurs, making Hannah look away impatiently.

“What’s up with her?” Allie asks alarmed, pointing at Kelley, who looks like she’s about to pass out.

Hannah looks at Kelley, who slumps over in that exact moment.

“Woooah, slowly Kel.” Allie chuckles, stepping forward to help Hannah to prevent Kelley from falling.

“Aaaaand she’s out.” Ashlyn laughs loudly, blindly trying to find the straw of her drink with her tongue without success.

“Something tells me she’s not far from it either.” Allie whispers loudly to Ali, pointing at Ashlyn.

“HEY!” Ashlyn yells while Pinoe arrives with a shitfaced smile.

“Kel bell, what’s up with you?” Pinoe slurs with a baby voice, poking Kelley’s face without getting a response.

“Great. Was she still drinking when you found her?” Hannah groans, ignoring all the drunkards around her. 

“Found her whilst chugging half a bottle of champagne.”

“LEGEND.” Pinoe bawls.

“Ugggh. Tomorrow is going to be awesome.”

Allie takes another look at Kelley, who is limply hanging on to their supporting shoulders with her eyes closed, toppling back and forth.

“Definitely.” she laughs.

“Okay, party’s over, babe. Let’s get you to the hotel.”

“I’ll help you.” Allie offers.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kelley miraculously survives the night without any incidents. Knocked out like a light, she sleeps through. The miserable part starts in the morning when she wakes up guilt ridden, the memories of the night before flooding in. She wishes the alcohol somehow had made her forget. Instead her body still feels and smells intoxicated, however the real origin of anything poisonous is located in her thoughts that are drowning her like a wave, violently pulling her head underwater every time she tries to breathe. Kelley starts to wonder how she even got to the hotel and her eyes start going wide when she realizes that apparently, she can’t recall as much as she thought. Kelley looks around the room in panic, making her head hurt badly. She is alone. The bed beside her is already made or untouched in the first place. She then looks down her body which is covered in clothes. A good sign. Kelley lets out a deep breath, looking at the ceiling. At least she didn’t do anything worse she thinks before realizing that it really couldn’t get any worse than it already is. She reaches for her phone, squinting at the bright light of her phone which immediately makes her headache even more prominent.

Hannah [8:49]: Call me when you wake up.

Instead Kelley texts her, not ready to face the agony of hearing Hannah’s blameless voice. It already hurts enough to know that she is going to have to lie to her either way. After Kelley motionlessly and numbly stood under the stream of an ice-cold shower, she meets Hannah in the lobby to go for a walk outside since she can’t even think about breakfast. Hannah fills in the blanks in Kelley’s memory and Kelley hasn’t been able to even look at her once since they met. 

“What’s up with you?”

“Huh?” Kelley mumbles absentmindedly.

“Something is off.”

“Eh no I just-“

Kelley stops mid-sentence when she hears Alex’s voice, arguing loudly. Before Kelley is able to process what is about to happen, Alex walks around the corner, looking behind her, not watching where she is going. She is walking so fast that she almost crashes into Kelley who quickly grips her arms to cushion the collision. She barley manages to stop before they knock heads and Servando comes to an abrupt halt, the words he was yelling faltering. Alex looks at Kelley with wide eyes. Kelley notices the tension between her and Servando in a heartbeat. She has been running from him, he was chasing. Kelley feels a feeling of sickness arising in her body.

“-feel sick.” she finishes.

She quickly pushes Alex back forcefully and bends over, starting to throw up.

“Kelley!!” Alex gasps.

“Oh my god, Kelley!” Hannah exclaims.

“Shit.” Servando says worried.

Alex jumps into action faster than lightning. She holds Kelley’s hair and gently strokes her back, while Hannah rushes to her side as well, being left with patting the lower part of her back. When Kelley stops, she slumps down to the ground, leaning against the wall, closing her eyes.

“Water.” she says weakly.

“I’ll get you some!” Hannah quickly says.

“I’ll get some wet towels.” Servando adds, jogging to catch up with Hannah.

Alex sits down next to Kelley, putting her arm around her. Kelley lets her head fall on Alex’s shoulder exhaustedly. She wipes the sweat off Kelley’s forehead with her hand. Even though Alex only sits beside her, she can feel Kelley’s heart racing. So, while her hand is still holding Kelley’s forehead, she lays her free hand on top of her chest, right above her heart to calm her down.

“Hey, shhhh, I’m here.” she soothes with a gentle voice.

Kelley nods lightly, nuzzling her head in the crook of her neck. After a minute or so of just sitting in silence Alex starts to worry.

“Your heart is still racing.”

Kelley doesn’t answer for another solid minute.

“I think you’re only making it worse.” she finally whispers with a weak smile on her face.

Alex heart makes a jump, but she still decides on ignoring the comment and drop her hand.

“Are you okay?”

“Alex…I-“

“Shit, babe, are you okay?” Hannah asks worried, handing her the water bottle while Servando hands Alex a towel.

“Eh-yeah. I drank a lot last night, haven’t been feeling well all morning.” Kelley says with a crack in her voice, still avoiding eye contact, turning her head to Alex so she can place the cold towel on her forehead. Alex looks at Kelley disbelievingly, knowing that Kelley is lying. Meanwhile, Hannah and Servando seem to buy Kelley’s cheap excuse.

“Typical hangover. That’s the worst, man.” Servando grimaces.

“Ugh, Kelley I literally told you not to drink that much. I already had a handful with getting you to the hotel last night. You’re lucky Allie was such an angel. I don’t watch you for like one hour and you’re shit wasted. I should have left you at the venue.” Hannah rants.

Kelley looks at her annoyed, clearly not in the physical condition to argue.

“Alex, I’m so sorry!” Hannah apologizes.

“NO!” Alex exclaims loudly, making everybody look at her.

“Eh, I mean, no everything is fine. Actually, I’m the one who has to be sorry.”

Kelley looks at her with panic struck eyes that scream ‘You can’t be serious!’ while Hannah and Servando look at her questioningly.

“Kelley isn’t to blame. I got her this drunk. We were downing some shots and I kept on ordering more.” Alex defends.

“Well, defending her is really honorable Alex, still I don’t see you throwing up all over the lawn. However, I got to say, you look really pale right now.” Hannah observes. 

“Uh, yeah. I don’t feel quite well either.” Alex answers, now being the one who can’t look at Hannah. Kelley notices immediately, trying to pull the attention away from Alex.

“I think I need some more rest. Would you mind helping me upstairs?” she asks Hannah.

“Yeah, sure.”

Only now does Alex realizes that her other hand is still around Kelley and she quickly drops it. She then jumps to her feet, awkwardly dusting off her pants. Hannah puts her arm around Kelley to stabilize her for the second time in the last 24 hours.

“Do you need any help?” Servando asks.

“We’re good. Who drinks that much has to deal with the consequences, right?”

“…Right.” Alex mumbles quietly, looking at the ground.

Her gaze quickly shoots up when she feels Kelley’s eyes on her. She looks at Alex desperately.

“Thanks again Alex, your reaction was blazing fast. I don’t think I would have acted that quickly when someone almost threw up on me.”

“Of course. I care for Kelley. That goes without saying.” Alex says meaningfully and Kelley looks at her guiltily, catching the insinuation.

“Thanks, Al.” she says quietly, before they leave.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At lunch, they say goodbye to their friends and family. However, while for most of the players the goodbye is either happy because they are going to see them in a couple of days again or sad because their partners and families go back to their normal working schedules, both cases don’t apply to Kelley or Alex. After Alex said goodbye to her family, untypically prolonging the hugs to avoid facing Servando, she finds herself standing in front of him, still not able to make eye contact.

“Hey.” he says softly, putting his finger under Alex’s chin to make her look up at him.

The moment Alex’s eyes meet his she can’t stop the tears from coming. They are streaming down her face like a waterfall and desperate sobs escape her lips. Servando wraps her in an affectionate hug, gently combing his hand through her hair. The loving hug only makes Alex cry harder and she holds onto him, her face buried in his chest. He kisses her head softly.

“Don’t cry. I’ll meet you in LA in a few days.” he says softly, causing Alex’s body to shake heavily, the tears soaking his shirt.

Meanwhile, Kelley is standing across the room apathetically while her family and her girlfriend have a conversation, she should probably engage in. Still, they don’t bother since nothing seems to grab her attention all morning. Hannah rightly accused her of being distant which Kelley excused with being extremely hungover, downplaying her real emotions. Despite all that, her attention is drawn towards Alex immediately when she hears her crying. She instantly feels a profound urge to walk up to Alex and hold her close, but instead Alex is wrapped in Servando’s embrace. Her husband. ‘Alex has a husband’ Kelley thinks. She watches Servando kiss Alex’s head, whispering something which only makes Alex cry even more and she doesn’t recognize her feet starting to make her way across the room until a hand on her shoulder stops her.

“Are you okay?”

Kelley turns around to look at Hannah. Her girlfriend. ‘I have a girlfriend’ Kelley thinks.

“Do you have to throw up again? You look terrible right now.” Hannah asks worried.

Sam walks by with a cup of beer and Kelley snatches it from her hand, downing it in one go, before putting the cup back into her hand. Sam looks at her with her jaw agape.

“Thanks.” Kelley pats her shoulder, making her walk on confused.

Kelley turns around hastily to look at Alex and Servando before Hannah snaps her finger in front of Kelley’s face angrily, looking at her in disbelief.

“What?!” Kelley says a little too loud when her head snaps back to Hannah.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe this.” Hannah turns around angrily.

“Wait, Hannah! I’m sorry!” Kelley chases her.

She catches up with her in the lobby, gripping her arm.

“Stop!” Hannah warns, freeing her arm from Kelley’s grip.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Kelley takes a step back, looking around nervously.

Hannah observes her closely, sighing when she sees the dull look in Kelley’s eyes.

“What are you sorry for?” Hannah asks desperately.

“For being in a bad mood.” Kelley mumbles unconvincingly.

“Bullshit.” Hannah counters.

“What are you really sorry for?”

Kelley stares at the ground numbly, chewing on her bottom lip.

“Why are you acting like that?” Hannah goes on.

No response.

“Kelley…I’m not blind. Can’t you just say it?”

Kelley shakes her head, tears starting to fall down her face. She wipes them away quickly.

“You love her.” Hannah says softly.

Kelley’s eyes meet Hannah’s. Now she allows the tears to silently roll down her face.

“I’m so so sorry.” Kelley cries, her voice almost unintelligible because it’s cracking so much.

She looks away ashamed, hiding her face in her hands. Suddenly, she feels her hands being pulled away from her face. Hannah holds her hands, giving them a squeeze.

“It’s okay.” she whispers, making Kelley’s heart break into a thousand pieces.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The team leaves France behind to continue on riding in the whirlwind that has them under its control ever since the night before. Kelley keeps a straight face for the first two hours of their flight back to the US, partying with her teammates, trying to erase all her pain. After another exhausting round of drinks, nearly everyone has fallen asleep to somewhat stay alive for the next 24 hours. Kelley doesn’t know how many beers she drank within said two hours, but sitting in the now silent plane she knows one thing for sure and that is that she’s feeling like shit and it’s not going to go away that easily. She tries to fall asleep for what feels like an eternity, tossing and turning sleeplessly, but her mind can’t rest for just one second. What she doesn’t know, is that she isn’t the only one. Alex watches Kelley since half an hour, the pain in her chest growing with every minute she sees the distraught expression on her face. Kelley sits up, exhaling deeply and rubs her hands through her face. When she stays put with her hands over her face for a really long time, Alex starts to worry even more and just as she decides to walk over, Kelley stands up determined. Alex quickly closes her eyes, pretending to sleep. She hears the light steps coming closer, feeling Kelley standing over her. That’s where she remains motionless for about 3 minutes. Alex considers if she should just open her eyes and check if Kelley has left, but she senses her presence unquestionably. Kelley squats down, lightly touching Alex’s shoulder.

“Al?” Alex hears her gentle voice.

“Alex...are you awake?” the warmth of her voice makes Alex’s heart combust in the same way Servando’s unknowing and pure tone did earlier. 

When she gets not response Kelley sighs heavily. Just when Alex thinks she stands up and leaves, she feels Kelley’s warm breath on her ear.

“I’m so sorry.” she whispers shakily before pressing a featherlight kiss to her cheek. That’s also when Alex feels something else touch her cheek and she senses that Kelley is standing up quickly. The pressure in her chest gets unbearable and Alex contemplates opening her eyes, but what should she say? Does it matter anyway? Shouldn’t they just ignore what happened? The tingling on her cheek pulls her out of her thoughts.

“Wait!” Alex whispers, quickly sitting up, her arm darting forward to reach for any part of Kelley, but her hand reaches into nothingness. Alex catches a short glimpse of Kelley jogging down the aisle, wiping away her tears and disappearing into the bathroom. Alex stares down the now empty aisle heartbroken. The tingling on her cheek starts moving down her face and Alex wipes her cheek, catching Kelley’s tear before it drips down her chin. They don’t talk after that.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Alex!! Alex!!! Give us a smile!! Alex to your left!!” the photographers yell deafening loud when Alex walks through a screaming crowd, ducking her head and following her teammates to enter the hotel.

“Alex, can you sign my shirt?”

“Alex what do you say to the criticism of your goal celebration?”

After all the years of standing in the spotlight since a very young age, the screams are only white noise to Alex. Therefore, Alex can’t explain why one particular question somehow forces its way into her ear.

“Alex where has your husband been all tournament??”

Alex’s step falters. She clenches her fists. The screams around her getting louder and louder until they are echoing through her head on maximum volume. She becomes uncomfortably aware of the noise that she tuned out before.

“Are the rumors true that you’re breaking up?” the same reporter yells.

Alex turns around abruptly, quickly striding in the direction of the reporter with sheer anger on her face, determined to take action, when she feels the wind being knocked out of her. She collides with a torso that is pushing her in the direction of the hotel entrance with such force that Alex can’t do anything but swim along the stream of her teammates and the staff, bolting for the entrance to escape the people. However, that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t try to fight back. When they enter the building, the body moves them away from the hustle and only now does Alex escape from the tunnel like state her mind was in that prevented her from perceiving her surroundings. She stops fighting against the force and takes a step back to look who’s been dragging her along. She looks at Kelley perplexed who is standing in front of her barrel-chested.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Alex barks, trying to push past her.

“I’m obviously saving you from a huge mistake!” Kelley argues, blocking her way.

“I don’t need to be rescued!!” Alex yells, shoving her in the chest. 

“Apparently you do Alex!!!” Kelley yells back.

“And what makes you the great hero to take that responsibility upon your shoulders?” Alex comments with a spiteful chuckle.

“Are you fucking serious right now?! I worry about you!!!” Kelley screams, making everybody look at them.

“Oh, spare yourself the sympathy.” Alex says numbly.

“You’re really campaigning for ‘Asshole of the Year’, huh?” Kelley asks sharply, getting into Alex’s face. 

“As the defending champion, are you nervous?” Alex counters arrogantly.

“Guys!!! Stop!!!” Dawn intervenes, trying to pull them apart, but they keep on going.

“Are you insane?! Do you know what could have happened?? Alex, really, do you understand what it would have meant to go at him?!”

“That’s MY problem!!! That’s MY FUCKING problem!!! Not yours!!”

“You know what Alex? Go ruin your life then, but don’t come crawling back to me and make me say ‘I told you so’. All I wanted was to help you.”

“You’re so full of yourself. Don’t act like you care anyway!!!!” Alex yells in anger.

Kelley raises her eyebrow at her, shaking her head and turns around to leave, but Alex walks around her, stopping in front of her.

“Don’t you dare look at me like that!! I don’t need your condescending attitude. I don’t need your pity. And most of all I don’t need your help!” Alex bites, pushing her pointer finger into Kelley’s chest repeatedly.

Kelley takes Alex’s finger into her hand, holding on to it.

“Yeah, right Alex. You made it pretty clear that you don’t need me.” she whispers bitterly, her voice full of pain, looking at her intensely. She then releases her hand, removing it from her chest and walks away without looking back once.

“Kelley!” Allie yells after her, but Kelley just keeps on walking.

Ali, JJ and Becky start running after her.

“What in the world was that?” Allie asks shocked, pulling Alex from her state of rage. That’s also the moment that Alex notices most of the team staring at her, jaw agape. When she does, she looks away ashamed, tears forming in her eyes and she takes off.

“Alex! Wait!” Allie calls after her.

Alex enters the staircase of the hotel. She sprints up the stairs until her lungs are burning and the tears are blocking her sight. Then she slumps down on the ground, pulling her legs to her body, hiding her face behind her legs. The staircase is filled with devastated sobs and it only takes two minutes until it’s also filled with sounds of steps approaching carefully. Someone sits down beside her. Alex feels arms pulling her in an embrace and she leans into the hug, crying even harder.

“It’s going to be okay.” Allie says softly, stroking her hair.

Alex shakes her head, gripping Allie’s shirt and keeps on crying for hours.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kelley wakes up with a jolt, a gasp escaping her mouth and she sits up straight.

“Fuck.” she breathes, letting herself fall back in the bed.

She grabs her phone, checking the time. 04:03 AM. She groans loudly. She only managed to fall asleep about one hour ago and is already woken by Alex wandering around in her dreams.

“Fuckin’ awesome.” Kelley whispers, throwing her legs out of bed.

She gets up and still feels the effects of the alcohol in her system, stumbling out of bed, almost falling over. They went out earlier, still celebrating the win. Kelley probably drank a sip for every minute Alex didn’t look at her which was a lot since she didn’t do so even once. She paces around her room, grabbing a small bottle of booze from the minibar, downing it in one go, scrunching up her face and letting the bottle fall to the ground. Kelley then leaves her room, staggering down the hallway, crashing into the walls every few steps until she arrives in front of Alex’s room. Under the door Kelley can see a light and she knocks against the door loudly.

“Aalex?”

Kelley holds onto the door frame to keep from swaying back and forth, waiting for her to open the door. When she doesn’t, she starts raising her voice.

“Alex, we need to talk!”

Kelley puts her ear against the door, listening for any noise.

“Aaalex!” she yells.

“Alex, I know you’re awake.” Kelley slurs, leaning her forehead against her door to support her weight.

“Heeey, open up!!”

She knocks again, but Alex is not responding. Kelley bangs her fist against the door hopelessly.

“I know you’re there. You can’t hide from me forever.” Kelley whispers, as she turns around and slides down the door, sitting down on the ground.

Meanwhile, Alex sits on the other side of the door, mirroring Kelley’s position, covering her mouth to silence the sobs that are escaping her once again.

“You know, I really need you to talk to me…” Kelley slurs, her voice sounding lost and almost childlike which it never does and it breaks Alex’s heart.

Alex closes her eyes, breathing unsteadily, the tears rolling down her face silently.

“I don’t know what to do…” Kelley cries.

“Al, I don’t know what I should do and I need your help. I need you here with me.” she sobs.

That’s where they both fall asleep. Back to back, but still a thousand miles apart.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kelley is woken by a kick to her ankle. She squints up, the light in the hallway blinding her and she rubs her hands through her face exhaustedly.

“You look like shit.” Allie comments drily.

“I feel like it.” Kelley rasps.

“Did you really spend the night in front of her door?”

Kelley looks around disoriented, still half asleep, “Looks like it, huh?”

Suddenly her eyes go wide and she jumps up immediately.

“Uuuh, I mean- I- I don’t know!! I must have been sleepwalking or very drunk.” Kelley stutters.

“Kelley?”

“Yeah?”

“Cut the crap.”

Kelley gives her an awkwardly nervous look.

“Uh…did she..uh-“

“Did she tell me?!” Allie chuckles.

“Ehm, yeah?” Kelley asks unsure, her voice high.

Allie bursts into loud laughter, making Kelley look at her insecurely.

“Bitch, please!! First of all, I’m surprised it only happened now-”

Kelley shakes her head shocked, wondering how Allie noticed.

“Don’t shake your head like that, I’m not fucking blind-“

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” Kelley frowns.

“-and second of all ‘We were just talking’?!? Who were you guys trying to kid? A three-year-old?”

“What do you mean?”

“Kel, Alex looked like a flustered mess with her zipper open and when it comes to you, no champagne bottle in the world makes your lips look like that.”

Kelley opens her mouth, meaning to defend herself, but she closes it quickly again.

“That’s what I thought.” Allie says knowingly, raising an eyebrow.

Kelley exhales deeply, looking at Allie exhaustedly and slides down the door again, closing her eyes and massaging her forehead.

Allie squats down in front of her, “Does she know you slept here?”

“Maybe…probably…I don’t know. I don’t quite remember last night that well.” Kelley shakes her head, frowning.

“Kel…”

Allie stops and puts her hand on Kelley’s knee to make her look at her.

“You shouldn’t be here.” she whispers pained, giving Kelley a compassionate look.

Kelley lets her hand fall from her forehead, looking at Allie with bloodshot, dull eyes, but somehow her gaze still is intimidatingly piercing. Kelley studies Allie’s eyes closely, looking at her motionless for a long minute. Then she gets up without saying a word. Allie still squats on the ground, now looking up at her questioningly. Kelley nods at Allie emotionlessly, her face gone distant and cold.

“Yeah.” she says before she turns around.

Allie, who remains in her position, watches her walk down the hallway, trying to read what she just witnessed. Kelley stops in front of her room, unlocking her door, taking another look at Allie before entering her hotel room. Allie stares at Alex’s door blankly and then turns her head to Kelley’s door again.

“No.” she whispers, jumping up and running to Kelley’s door, turning the doorknob hectically.

The door is locked and Allie hammers with her flat hand against it repeatedly.

“Kelley! Open the door!”

Kelley doesn’t respond.

“Kelley open the fucking door!!”

The door springs open and Kelley walks out with her suitcase and her bag, pulling the door closed. She has never been gladder that she didn’t unpack her things when they arrived at the hotel the day before. 

“What are you doing?!” Allie exclaims, looking at her shocked.

“I’m leaving.” Kelley says coldly, marching down the hallway.

“What do you mean you’re leaving?! Are you crazy?? You can’t just leave, Kelley!!” Allie shouts, following Kelley frantically. 

“I have to, you said it yourself. She doesn’t need me.”

“I was talking about sitting in front of her door you fucking idiot!”

“No, you’re right. I’m no good for her. I’m going to make her life a mess and she is the one who made her decision!”

“Woah, stop right there!! What are you talking about?!”

“I said what I said. She made her fucking decision without any hesitation, she chose this!!” Kelley snaps outraged.

“Kel, that’s really unfair. Why are you making her out to be the one who made that decision?!” Allie scolds her angrily.

“Because she’s with Servando!!!” Kelley yells, stopping and turning around.

“And you’re with Hannah!!” Allie yells reproachful.

Kelley stays silent. Allie is waiting for a verbal response, but instead only gets a look out of Kelley that she wishes she hadn’t seen. Kelley looks at her with such agony in her eyes that Allie nearly has to look away because she can’t take it. Kelley turns around, walking towards the elevator. Allie is left dumbfounded, frozen for a few seconds before she catches up with Kelley, gripping her arm to turn her around harshly.

“No, no, no, no, no! You’re with Hannah!” Allie emphasizes intensely.

“Leave me the fuck alone.” Kelley says icily, trying to free her arm.

Since Allie doesn’t let her go, Kelley just keeps on walking, dragging her towards the elevator, pushing the button. Allie lets Kelley’s arm go, getting in her way.

“Kel, you’re with Hannah. Right?” Allie asks shocked.

“We broke up.”

“HOOOLY FUCK.” Allie exclaims.

“The morning before we left Lyon.”

“Are you kidding me?!”

“I wish I was.”

“That’s insane!!” Allie exclaims.

“I know!” Kelley yells.

“…I know. I wish I could lie, say that it’s okay, that I want her to be happy with him. But the truth is I can’t. I can’t do that. Not when I know what could have been. I can’t just sit and watch. It’s killing me, Allie. When I see them together it causes this excruciating pain in my chest and all I can think about is how my hands would touch her more gently than his, how my voice would worship her more than his does, how my heart would love her more than he ever could. I wish that just for one day, I could be enough…but I’m not.”

“And now you’re leaving?!”

“How should I bear seeing her everyday without once daring to look her in the eyes and tell her the truth?? I’m messing up her life.”

Allie looks at her in disbelief. Kelley steps into the elevator.

“She is married.” Kelley breathes, looking at Allie meaningfully, her voice cracking.

Allie holds her arm into the door, stopping the elevator from closing.

“But Kel…you and Hannah…you were-“ Allie whispers with tears in her eyes.

“Engaged. Yes.” Kelley says calmly, her voice carrying enormous pain, “Maybe it was a good decision that we never told anyone.”

“Kelley.” Allie breathes, tears rolling down her face.

Kelley walks up to Allie, taking her face in her hands.

“Allie, you have to let me go.” she says valiantly.

Allie shakes her head.

“You were right. I have to.” Kelley whispers calmly, her eyes glossy.

In Allie’s head the wheels start turning and Kelley can almost watch her thoughts battling between logic and feelings. Suddenly, Allie’s face goes blank and Kelley is pretty sure she finally lets her go.

“No Kel, that’s not going to happen.” Allie says determined, wiping away her tears, taking a step forward and disabling the elevator.

“What did you do??” Kelley asks aghast.

“I’m not going to let this happen.”

“Allie.”

“No, Kel. As your friend it’s my responsibility to stop you from committing what I believe is a huge mistake. You and Alex need to sort things out. If after that you decide to leave, I can’t stop you, but right now you’re not going to disappear without saying a word. Plus, Jill would literally kill me, if I’d let you go right now.”

“And what am I supposed to say to her??” Kelley exclaims hopelessly.

“The truth.”

“The truth doesn’t matter anyway. It’s like you said, I shouldn’t be near her, sleeping in front of her door and stuff.” Kelley exclaims.

“I know what I said, but…” Allie rambles.

“But what?” Kelley mumbles discouraged, rolling her eyes and looking away from Allie.

“Kelley, look at me.” Allie commands.

Kelley reluctantly makes eye contact. 

“Alex is an absolute mess right now.” Allie looks at Kelley meaningfully, stressing her words to mark their significance.

Kelley looks at her shocked, the thought of Alex hurting because of her making her even more miserable.

“But she won’t even talk to me.” Kelley reasons stunned.

“Then find a way to make her. Kelley, really, you need to fix this.” Allie urges, gripping Kelley’s shoulders and shaking her lightly.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another day goes by without talking to Alex. The whole Tuesday Kelley tries to get a hold of her, but no matter how hard she tries, Alex just keeps on ignoring her. After a long, painful day Kelley is at her wit’s end and lays in bed wide awake and exhausted. She doesn’t get any sleep that night and instead keeps drinking to numb the permanent twinge in her chest. When the first rays of sunlight beam through the window of her hotel room, Kelley already has been up for a while since she was no longer able to lay still and instead took a long shower, trying to make any sense of everything that is happening. After she got dressed, she finds herself in front of Alex’s hotel room once again, sitting adjacent to her door. That’s where she waits rather impatiently. When an hour goes by Kelley starts asking herself why in the world she is sitting in front of Alex’s room since 5:30 am yet again. Kelley continues checking her watch, drawing along the patterns of the hotel’s carpeted floor out of pure boredom. At 8:00 am Kelley hears shuffling in Alex’s room and even though she is glad to hear that Alex is still in her hotel room, she also feels an enormous feeling of anxiety devouring her body. At about 8:40 am Kelley hears Alex’s steps approaching the door and at this point her heart is beating so fast that she considers running away, but instead she takes a deep breath.

“You got this.” she tries to calm herself, but every sense of calmness is thrown out the window once the doorknob turns.

Alex opens the door, meaning to make her way to breakfast after another horrible night with a maximum of 2 hours of sleep. When she spots Kelley sitting in front of her door, she stops dead in her tracks, looking at her stupefied. Kelley freezes in her spot too, looking at Alex overwhelmed. They stay like this for a few seconds, before Alex takes a step back and starts closing the door again. Kelley jumps to her feet, taking a huge leap and gets her foot in the door just before Alex is able to close it. Alex tries pushing the door closed with all her power, but Kelley holds against it relentlessly.

“Go away.” Alex orders bitterly.

“Over my dead body.” Kelley replies determined.

“Leave me the fuck alone!” Alex snaps, leaning against the door.

However, Kelley does so as well, using all her power and bodyweight, knowing that Alex won’t be able to keep the door closed. Within a few seconds Kelley pushes the door open, walks in and locks it behind her quickly. Alex looks at her fumingly and tries reaching around her to get out, but Kelley blocks her way.

“Get out of my way right now!” 

“Not gonna happen.”

“Just fuck off already!!” she yells aggravated.

Kelley just shakes her head, making Alex’s blood boil. She turns around on her heel, crossing her arms defensively. Kelley follows her into the room, reaching for her arm to make her turn around, but her hand gets slapped away.

“Don’t touch me!!”

Kelley lets her hand fall, looking at Alex with yearning pain in her eyes.

“Alex…we need to talk.” she says softly. 

“What about?” Alex asks coldly.

“You know what about.” Kelley counters pleadingly.

“I don’t have anything I want to talk to you about.”

“Listen, I can’t take this anymore, we need to talk about what happened between us.” Kelley begs desperately.

“Nothing happened between us.” Alex says blankly.

“HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?!?!” Kelley explodes in a deafening scream, making Alex flinch.

However, Alex quickly masks her surprise at Kelley’s outburst with an indifferent expression, blankly looking through Kelley as if she wasn’t even there.

“How can you say nothing happened??!!?” Kelley yells.

“HEY!! LOOK AT ME!!!” she roars, but Alex doesn’t do so.

“Alex, I swear to fucking god, I want you to look at me!”

Alex keeps on looking past her icily, not once making eye contact. 

“See, you can’t even look at me because you know what would have happened.” Kelley says pitying.

This makes Alex look at her immediately.

“Nothing. Would. Have. Happened!” Alex bites through gritted teeth, full of anger, for the first time showing any kind of emotion regarding what happened between them since the fight they had in the lobby.

She walks up to Kelley and comes really close to her face threateningly, her eyes burning with fury. Kelley finally sees a way of cracking Alex’s shell and starts provoking her, getting closer to her face.

“You know what Alex? Here is what would have happened, I would have fucked you all night long.” Kelley bites, looking at Alex provocatively.

“Shut the fuck up!” Alex screams, pushing Kelley back, but Kelley walks right up to her again, getting even closer, gripping her chin, their lips almost touching.

“I would have taken you to my hotel room and I would have fucked you so good that all you would have done is scream my name all night long, forgetting he even ever existed.”

The next thing Kelley feels is the burning sensation of Alex’s flat hand connecting with her cheek, slapping her across the face hard, “FUCK YOU!!!”

What follows is absolute silence. Alex’s eyes go wide when she realizes what she has done.

“I-“ Alex starts.

“Don’t you think it’s sad that even after that I feel better?” Kelley whispers, holding her cheek, looking at Alex hurt.

“Kelley, I’m so so-“

“I feel fucking better because you hit me in the face…” she shakes her head, staring off into space.

“Kel, please I’m so sorry!” Alex cries.

“I feel fucking better because I finally got your attention.”

“Kel.” Alex sobs.

“And apparently it doesn’t even matter anymore how I get it.” Kelley says, finally looking at Alex numbly.

“I’m so so sorry.” Alex cries silently, her mouth forming the words, but her voice never uttering them due to her sobs.

Alex looks away ashamed, the tears dropping down her chin. Then Alex feels a gentle hand on her cheek, intensifying her crying even more.

“Hit me, yell at me, hate me, do whatever, but don’t you dare ignore me for one more second, because I can’t bare that anymore. Please…don’t leave me alone.” Kelley whispers, her voice cracking.

Alex dives into Kelley’s arms, burying her face in her chest, wetting her shirt with her tears. Kelley gently strokes Alex’s hair, reminding Alex of the hug she shared with Servando, however in Kelley’s arms she feels safer than she ever felt in his and it’s terrifying her.

“I can’t do it without you.” Kelley whispers in her hair, the tears rolling down her face as well.

Kelley presses a kiss to Alex’s head, closing her eyes, whispering, “I need you.”

Alex hugs Kelley even tighter, clinging onto her desperately.

“I need you, too.” Alex sobs, causing a sting in Kelley’s chest.

“Why don’t you just hate me?” Alex exclaims in a self-loathing tone, pulling away from the embrace.

Kelley shakes her head, “N-no, I- .” Kelley stutters.

“I hurt you!!” Alex yells pained.

“So did I!” Kelley exclaims.

“Kel…I hit you.” Alex whispers, looking at Kelley sadly, reaching out to touch her cheek tenderly.

Kelley closes her eyes, leaning into the touch.

“This can’t be good.” Alex whispers hurt.

“Don’t say that.” Kelley shakes her head, her eyes still closed.

Alex starts pulling her hand away from Kelley’s cheek, but Kelley stops her, holding it in its place. She lightly turns her head and presses a soft kiss to Alex’s hand. When she opens her eyes, the tears on Alex’s face have intensified.

“It’s okay, you were angry. I provoked you. I’m sorry.” Kelley comforts her.

Alex wipes the tears away frantically, but they just keep wetting her face.

“The thing that made me angry is that you were right.” Alex cries, her voice heart-wrenching.

Kelley observes her silently.

“I…I really wanted this. God…what kind of human am I?” Alex exhales.

Kelley just remains silent.

“If we wouldn’t have been interrupted I-”Alex goes on distressed, stopping mid-sentence, not able to find the right words.

“-and how could I do this to…“

“Servando.” Kelley finishes for her.

Alex looks at Kelley sorrowfully, “Yeah. How could we do this to the both of them?”

“Have you told him?”

“I didn’t.” Alex looks to the ground ashamed, not able to look at Kelley.

Kelley nods her head dejectedly, her heart hurting like it’s been shot. She then shakes her head self-mockingly, a loathing laugh escaping her lips. Alex catches a glimpse of the look on Kelley’s face when she looks up again.

“What’s that look supposed to mean?” Alex frowns.

“Nothing.” Kelley breathes.

“Tell me!” Alex insists.

“No.”

“Kelley, are you fucking serious right now?” Alex starts getting aggravated again.

Her voice is getting louder, “Why are you looking at me like that?? Do you really think-”

“You’re still with him, right?” Kelley interrupts her, making Alex look at her perplexed.

“What do you mean ‘am I still with him’?? He’s my-”

“Husband. Yeah, I know! I fucking know!” Kelley exclaims angrily, a single tear rolling down her face.

Alex looks at Kelley dumbfounded.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!?” Alex exclaims confused.

“I care about you!!” Kelley yells.

“So do I!!! Are you telling me that I don’t care about you enough, that I should leave him?!”

Kelley stays silent.

“You’re in a relationship as well, Kelley!! You’re engaged. Do you think it’s easy for me to see the two of you together?! Because it isn’t, it fucking isn’t!!” Alex yells irritated.

“I’m-“ Kelley stares at Alex helplessly, knowing what she was about to say might destroy everything, so she keeps her mouth shut.

“You’re what Kelley?!”

Kelley bites her lip nervously.

“What are you not telling me?! I can’t take this any-”

“I broke up with her.” Kelley bursts out, ultimately no longer able to keep this from Alex. The words are loudly echoing through the room as everything goes completely silent. In that moment, the world seems to stop turning. Alex looks at Kelley speechlessly, the words she was about to utter dying on her lips.

“Alex, I-” Kelley’s voice goes hoarse and she has to take a deep breath to get it back to normal.

“I’m in love with you.” Kelley says, gulping heavily, her hands shaking.

“I’m not telling you that you don’t care about me enough, I’m telling you that I care about you too much.”

Alex is not moving one inch, it’s almost as if she’s stopped breathing.

“And I know this is wrong. I know I can’t be mad at you or him for being with each other. For Christ’s sake, he is your husband, but I am desperately in love with you and I think I’ve been for a while now.”

Alex opens her mouth, but Kelley interrupts her before she can even say anything.

“Don’t.” Kelley holds her hand up to stop her.

“I don’t want you to say anything you don’t mean and first and foremost I don’t want to ruin your life. It’s just that I can’t hide this anymore. I can’t pretend that I’m not feeling this. It’s just too much Alex.” Kelley stresses exhaustedly, her voice straining to get the heaviness and the meaning across.

Kelley pulls at the collar of her shirt, feeling as if the air is sucked from her lungs with every word she utters. 

“Kel.” Alex calls out softly, reaching for Kelley’s hand to keep her from ripping her shirt.

“I guess I just always thought that one day everything would fall in place. I always thought: one day if life is cruel and merciless to her, I’ll be there, I’ll be waiting for her. But this is so wrong Alex. How can I think like that? How can I walk through life, waiting for us to happen? How can I wait for one day?” Kelley cries.

She wipes away her tears, taking a deep breath.

“Still I can’t stop. Alex, I know I’d wait a lifetime for you. Even if it means that we are going to be 99 when it happens.” Kelley shrugs with a self-pitying laugh that breaks Alex’s heart, Kelley’s words bringing her to tears. 

“I shouldn’t be telling you all of this and I know I am messing up our friendship right now, but I just want you to know that there is no one in the world that loves you as much as I love you. This doesn’t mean that I want you to reciprocate my feelings. I know I can’t give you what he gives you and I’d be destroying everything you ever had. You’re happy with him. Happier than I could ever make you. I can’t mess that up. The only thing I need is for you to talk to me again. Just as friends. I need my friend, Alex. I need you. Can you promise me that?”

Alex nods with tears in her eyes. Kelley takes a step towards Alex, making her look at her questioningly. Kelley then leans forward and presses a light kiss to her cheek before staring into Alex’s eyes.

“One day, Alex.” Kelley whispers, her voice shaky.

She then turns around and quickly leaves the room.

The door closes and Kelley rushes down the hallway with tears streaming down her face, her heart set on fire. She knew it would hurt, she knew it was only a matter of time, but making her way to her room, Kelley only now realizes what saying it out loud really entails. She thought telling Alex the truth was going to be deliverance, taking away all the pain she was feeling and putting an end to her suffering, but instead it’s now robbing her of all her freedom. It feels as if somebody put shackles on her feet, pulling at them to keep her from standing up. With every step she takes down the hallway, she knows she is running to find a cure for a poison that has already spread through her whole body, every antidote in vein. This is going to fuck her up badly. It doesn’t help that in her room her packed bags are waiting for her to leave. Her decision one that will change her whole life. However, what makes her hurt even more is that she chose this and now she is paying the prize for exposing what she’s been feeling, ruining their friendship. What happens next is something Kelley didn’t expect one bit. She hears Alex’s hotel door open again.

“Kelley, wait!” Alex cries, jogging down the hallway.

Kelley freezes mid-step, her heart pounding out of her chest while Alex jogs up to her. Alex takes her face into her hands, looking her in the eyes deeply and then leans in to kiss her passionately. Kelley is pretty surprised that Alex came after her, which is why she’s even more caught off guard by the kiss, her back hitting the wall due to the force Alex puts into it. Kelley is furrowing her brows at the intensity of the kiss and all the passion that is put into it. There is no space between them, as the long kiss is taking away all the air to breathe. When they part lips, it’s only because of the lack of oxygen, keeping their foreheads leaned against each other. This is how they remain for quite a while, breathlessly, their eyes closed, holding on to each other.

“Alex…” Kelley breathes, hesitantly.

Alex presses her lips to Kelley’s again. Furrowing her eyebrows in pain and Kelley defenselessly surrenders. After a while Kelley pulls away, looking at Alex questioningly. Alex’s hands still hold Kelley’s face and she strokes her thumb across Kelley’s cheek, eying her closely with a contemplative look.

“I don’t understand.” Kelley whispers lost.

“Kelley O’Hara, I am in love with you too.” Alex whispers in awe.

Kelley looks back at her stunned, her forehead in creases.

“But- I- are you sure?” Kelley asks overwhelmed.

“Sometimes ‘one day’ might mean right now.” Alex whispers, looking into Kelley’s eyes deeply with a soft smile on her face. Kelley gazes at Alex captivated and a smile is born on her face too. She leans forward and kisses her fondly.


End file.
